Preliminaries

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Welcome to the Preliminary process!

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Preliminary 1 

Experiment X:

Script

The Hiring Process

My preliminary featured a protagonist who is mainly obeserving the scenario and having memory flashbacks, indicating that there are no dialogues. Hence, I needed an individual who could give flawless expressions, convey the emotions through the countenance, and be able to demonstrate the scenario to the viewers through body language and gestures. 

For the selection, I first interviewed my family members, in which particularly my brother and my father auditioned. Even though the acting skills were on par, there was still the need of improvemment in the maturity of facial expressions that my preliminary required. 

Next, I auditioned my freinds, and from among them, two of them suited particularly well for the two roles in my film. These two were selected and asked to undergo some small training sessions in order to polish thier skills and make them completely eligible for the role. 

Starring Abdul Rehman as the lab chief

As soon as the required level of expertise was reached, we shot the preliminary and was successfully able to complete it within 3-4 tries. 

Location Scouting 

The plot of my preliminary was set in a scientific setting and hence a Science Lab was the best choice. So, I had some options in mind as Science Labs exist in most instituitions. However, the most feasible was the Science Lab in my own Institute, The Cresent Model School as it was easily accessible and I wouldn't have to waste time scouting for other locations. 

Therefore, the Science Lab of the A leve section in Crescent Model School was chosen as the facility was built using contemporary material and features modern furniture and state of the art equipment, seamlessly presenting an appropriate backdrop for my preliminary. 

Filming

The filming of my preliminary began in November 2024, precisely on 14th November' 2024 and as mentioned above, took almost three to four takes before it was perfect. 

Therefore, it was completed around 19th November and set for further processing, constituting the post-production section. 

Camera

The camera that filmed my preliminary was a Samsung S9+  dual camera which is 12 MP 25mm and features LED flash, auto HDR and panorama

Lighting

My preliminary fetaured a science-fiction horror genre set at the day time. Hence, it was mot appropriate to use natural light and therefore, no additional artificial coloured lights were used. 

This technique of using the natural light, also known as practial lighting, complemented the horror genre because it added a feel of  realism, was essential to build tension and create a dramatic feeling. Natural lighting helps creates shadows that develop a terrifyingly ominous effect, hiding or revealing objects or shadows of paranormal beings. 

It also limits visibility, heightening the sense of drama and increasing realism, allowing the audience to relate with the characters on a deeper level. Therefore, using natural lighting for my preliminary was the perfect choice. 

Cinematography

The preliminary starts with a wide shot along with a tilt movement. The wide shot enables the viewers to view the whole area which showcases destruction caused by something. A red pigment is also vid=sible in the screen while the camera slowly moves up and reveals the protagonist's expressions.

The shot cuts to an OTS shot as the scientist touches his head and sees blood. In order to make the audience relate to the protagonist's thoughts, I used a close-up shot next up. Due to this, the audience was clear that the scientist is also unaware of happened and is shock to see the blood. Then we move to his flashback.

A panning movement reveals multiple chemicals which displays the lab. A two shot next up tells the audience that there was someone else with the scientist too. Moreover, I used a close-up shot with shallow focus to show the dropping in the flask. This created a dynamic effect and complimented the effect of chemical being brewed. 

Followed by that, I revealed the second character who might be the scientist's assistant or a colleague who drinks the chemical made by the scientist. I used a mid shot for that which let me focus on the assistant only who scoops it all in a go. The scientist is then shown coming back to the present but now his expressions have changed a bit. He is worried as he now remembers what had happened while the close-up shot captures his countenance. 
The last scene showcases the past again where the experimantal person falls to his knees, feeling hard to breath as he coughs vehemently. A canted angle disorientates the audience creating unease. Followed by this is the POV shot of the person who might have transformed into something dangerous and he is now seeing the scientist with a perilous gaze 

Color palette and costumes

The costumes used were any formal attire beneath, on which, the lab coat has to be worn. It was so because no matter what's beneath wasn't quite visible. Thus, I ensured that the coat being worn above covers the whole body effectively and nothing benath is visible. 

Post-production

I used capcut for the preliminary as well as it didn't contain any watermark and many  of its functions are free to use. To start with, I added keyframes and made a fade out for smooth beginning of the preliminary. 

The next step I did was adding a filter - Humble - which gave a darker effect on the screen and made the lights seem gloomy. 

The next part goes on with the same technique up until the flashback. To make it relateable, I added a transition - Pull in - which makes the scene seem as it is moving towards the protagonist's thoughts or memories. It was approximately 0.3 seconds long. 

The next scenes contained his flashbacks so in order to show that, I gave an even more darker touch by reducing the color hues and giving a black and white touch. Furthermore, the initial scene of the preliminary was quiet. However, to show the contrast now, I used random lab noises such as mixing of the beaker, dropping etc. 

Next up, I used crosscutting and parallel editing through which I could inject my audience with some ace and urgency. Moreover, the sudden change from black and white to colorful again gives a more dramatic effect too. I also used a whoosh sound effect on each of the transitions which complimented them making them seem real. 

For the end of the preliminary, where he remembers his assistant turning into a monster or another being, I firstly used several bone cracking sounds to enhance the transformation element. Secondly, I faded in the growling sound which added an essence of terror to his voice and also complimeted the state of the protagonist. Furthermore, as the preliminary was moving towards its end, I added fade outs to all of the sounds in the end to ensure smoothness. 

These wera all the essentials I did to make my preliminary, and I'll be taking help from this to work on my final project too. 

Preliminary 2

The door knock:

Script

Correction: [The date is 5th November, not 5th January]

The Hiring Process

As the preliminary had to be shot at my house, I had limited people who could act in my film. I auditioned different people from multiple age groups. However, I wasn't satisfied and therefore, decided to act myself so I could express the fear through my expressions clearly. The people helping in my film were my sister and mother, one would do the cinematography while the other would handle the set. 

Filming

The filming of my preliminary began in November 2024, precisely on 20th November' 2024 and as mentioned above, took almost three to four takes before it was perfect. 

Therefore, it was completed around 23rd November and set for further processing, constituting the post-production section. 

Camera

The camera that filmed my preliminary was a Samsung S9+  dual camera which is 12 MP 25mm and features LED flash, auto HDR and panorama

Lighting

I used low-key lights by utilizing the lights present in the room. A dark ambience was needed, thus I didn't use any extra lights, and where ever necessary, I used a flashlight of a mobile. 

Cinematography

The preliminary opens with a wide shot, while the protagonist is blocking the camera. The door behind him opens and he moves back, revealing the cupboard in which a teddy bear is placed. The door swings several times as the scene cuts to a close-up shot of the teddy bear. This was done to make the bear seem creepy rather than cute. A low angle close-up shot follows up next, which lets the camera capture the protagonist's expressions clearly. He closes the door the next second which is recorded using a point of view shot. The POV shot adds diversity to the shots being used keeping the audience engaged. 

In the upcoming scene, the door opens up again as the protagonist can hear its sound. To show this, I used an extreme close-up shot capturing the eye movement of the protagonist. This gives a dramatic effect catching the fancy of the viewers. The door opening showcases the teddy bear but this time the movement is slow, which matches the background music making the scene more creepy. This time, the protagonist, tighly closes the door when he can feel it being pushed from the inside. A mid shot is used to show this as I had to recorded the arms and movement of the protagonist and a mid shot helped me achieve this. A close-up shot followed up, capturing the countenance of the scared character, while I used a flashlight on his face as the back light was making his face dark. To add connectivity, I showed the door being banged from the inside, through a high angle which added horror element in my preliminary. Same was the case with the next shot, where a high angle explains the viewers that the character is weak and frightened, not daring to touch the door. 

At the end, the noise suddenly stops as the protagonist proceeds and places his ear on the door. The scene black outs while his ear is on the door and a knock is heard. 

Post-production

At the start of the preliminary, I didn't mute the track. Hence, I realized that the sound of the door was too low and there was a need to add sound. I added 2 diegetic sounds of door opening. 

The soundtrack I added in the first scene was quite slow and matching the on-screen action in the first scene. However, it didn't feel good in the upcoming scene because of which I faded this music out, and faded in a new thrilling one. 

As the scenes didn't require much editing, the cuts went quite simple and I didn't also need to ad extra diegetic sounds. The only diegetic sound I added was of a door creak later, which also worked as a sound bridge when the close-up of the  protagonist's eyes is shown. 

I also did some color grading to also make the scene a little dark as I had used a flashlight on the face of the protagonist which had added a little more light than I wanted. 

In the last scene I added a horror sound which I picked from a YouTube short. That sound perfectly matched my scene as well as complimenting the movements. 

This is how I completed the two preliminaries. These were just part of the preperation and I relised that many things weren't up to the mark. i would need an actual light source such as a ring light wtc. A better camera for higher resolution, and a good setting so the final project looks better. These preliminaries helped me alot as I was saved from doing these mistakes in the final project and could rectify them before I start working on it!